28 Feb How Cruze Farm Grew By Outsourcing Their Bookkeeping Services

Cruze Farm is one of the area’s only remaining independent dairies, and has become an example of how natural, local-made products can be embraced by even the finest restaurants in the region. Their dairy products, including milk, buttermilk or freshly made cheese, are becoming as much of a recognized staple of Tennessee’s culinary culture as Benton’s bacon.

They haven’t stopped there. Opening an ice cream and coffee shop on Gay Street and a pizza barn at their Asbury Road location in 2018 are the two latest business ventures spearheaded by fifth generation Colleen Cruze Bhatti. In 2010, Colleen and her husband Manjit Bhatti began a journey to save the family dairy farm that was established in 1980 by Earl and Cheri Cruze. By first expanding from the farmstead to food trucks, Cruze Farm became one of Knoxville’s small business darlings.

By all accounts, business is booming, but that hasn’t always been easy for Colleen and Manjit to measure, and it’s certainly not what drives Colleen. She says, “I think a lot of small business owners aren’t passionate about just making a lot of money. They’re passionate about people or the service they’re offering.”

Sure, she wants the family business to keep growing and earning revenue as well as foodie magazine acclaim, but providing the absolute best quality dairy products to the people in the region is much more inspiring and energizing to her than the financial bottom line.

Before hiring Two Roads, Colleen felt overwhelmed by all the paperwork of bookkeeping and accounting. “That’s the least fun part of owning a business for me,” she says, adding, “It also takes away from time you can spend growing a business. Before we started using Two Roads, we would work on paperwork when we had to, but it was definitely something that we put off until it was too neglected, really.”

Before & After

Still, Colleen had concerns about hiring outside help to keep track of their bookkeeping. “I was nervous about spending money and about having someone know what we were doing, and holding me accountable, too.”

However, after working with Two Roads for nearly two years, Colleen no longer has any reservations about outsourcing their bookkeeping. In fact, hiring a local firm in Knoxville to handle their books has not only proved to be a relief, it’s also helped them identify how they can more intentionally grow the business.

“It’s not just about not having to do the paperwork, but all the stress and thinking that you’re doing something wrong or illegal is lifted off because we’re able to pass that along to someone else,” she says. With their bookkeeping and accounting in expert hands, Colleen and Manjit have also been able to see more clearly where the business was thriving, or diving.

“Before, we honestly weren’t sure if we were making money, losing money, or breaking even,” Colleen says. “It’s great to be able to have someone else looking and observing, who is able to tell us, ‘Yes, this works,’ or ‘No, this doesn’t work,’ or ‘Keep doing that.’ It’s really helped us figure out where to focus the business.”

Most importantly, Colleen has more time and energy to interact with people and deliver the region’s coveted dairy products. She says, “I’ve loved having Two Roads because I can give them all of that boring stuff and then I get to do the fun part. I can do what I love, which has nothing to do with numbers.”

To see Colleen talk about what it’s like to work with Two Roads, watch this video:

How We Helped

Helping clients like Cruze Farm spend more time doing what they love is what motivates the team at Two Roads. Bookkeeping and accounting are inspiring and exciting to us, and we get that it isn’t for our clients. So here are a few of the essential ways we help manage our clients’ books:

Quickbooks Online is the gold standard tax accounting software for small businesses. We input a client’s data into the software and diligently maintain updates and reports.

We stay vigilant in keeping track of where money is going by reconciling all bank and credit card accounts.

True financial reporting goes well beyond a bank account number. Profit and loss reports and a running balance sheet give a more accurate picture of how a business is doing financially.

There’s a long list of horror stories about the costs of doing payroll incorrectly. Our payroll solutions keep our clients off that list.

Outsourcing your bookkeeping and accounting gives you the confidence of knowing that your books are being done right, freeing you up to focus on the growth of your business by doing what you love most.

At Two Roads, we have the privilege of doing bookkeeping for hundreds of small businesses who are leaders in their industry. We’d love to talk with you about what you love about your business, and how we can help you do more of that. Learn more about us at tworoadsco.com, schedule a call online, or call us at (865) 212-0063.

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See how Colleen Cruze stopped stressing over paperwork by using Two Roads

“Before, we honestly weren’t sure if we were making money, losing money, or breaking even...It’s great to be able to have someone else looking and observing, who is able to tell us, ‘Yes, this works,’ or ‘No, this doesn’t work,’ or ‘Keep doing that.’ It’s really helped us figure out where to focus the business...